Roller skate



y 3, 195g c. s. COOKE ETAL 2,552,35

ROLLER SKATE Filed June 18, 1947 Patented May 8, 1951 ROLLER SKATECharles S. Cooke, J oliet, and Lyle Z. Barnard Lockport Township, 111.

Application June 18, 1947, Serial No. 755,362

G'Claims'. 1

This invention relates to rollerskates.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved roller skatewhereby theangulardisplacement of the roller axles may be predeterminedfor predetermined lateral tilting of the frame of the" roller skate toprovide an adjustable turning radiusfor the roller skate. In this way,the roller skate may be adjusted to correspond to the desire of theskaterandto adapt the-roller skate for different skating styles. Also,the roller skate may be adjusted for speed skating where theturning-radius would be relatively large or for figure skating wheretheturning'radius would be relatively small.

In carrying out this object ofthe invention, the roller skate framecarries front and rear shafts which in turn carry the roller axles, andmeans are provided for angularly positionin the shafts about the axes ofthe roller 'axles to predetermine the angular displacement of the axlesfor predetermined lateral tilting of the frame.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved rollerassembly for a roller skate wherein a demountable tire may bereadilysecured to or detached from the hub.

Further objects of thisinventionreside in the details of construction ofthe roller skate and in the cooperative relation between'the componentparts thereof.

Other objects and advantages will' become apparent-to those skilled inthe art upon reference to the accompanying specification, claims, anddrawing in which Figure 1 is a side elevational View of the roller skatewith one of the rollers removed;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the frame of the roller skate;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line33 of Fig. 1; and

Figure 4 is a partial sectional view taken substantiall along the line3-4 of Fig. 3.

The roller skate is generally designated at l and it includes a frame Hhaving platforms l2 and [3 for supporting a shoe I4. The frame llpreferably is cast from alight metal-such as magnesium and inthe-casting operation, nibs 15 are provided on the platforms l2 and I3;The nibs I5 are utilized as supportsfor the'frame H during the machiningof the frame. After'the frame is completelymachined, thenibsl 5: areremoved.

The'forward end oftheframe I l isprovided with an extension i 8-providedwith a bore ll and a cross bore 20. A pin Zlcarriedby a-snubber 22 isreceived in the bore IQ and is-held in place ,clamp 34 fitting in thetransverse bore 3|.

therein by a spring-pressed ball 23 in the bore 20 engaging a groove 24in the pin 2 l.

The frame II is provided with front and rear bolsters 26 and 27! andeach bolster is provided with arcuate guide surfaces 28 and 29, theguide surface 29 being located in an arcuate groove. These arcuate guidesurfaces are preferably CO? axial with the roller axles; The bolstersare also provided with transverse holes 30 and enlarged transversebores3l. The bores i9 and 20, the arcuate guides 28 and 29, the holes38, and the bores 3! are preferably machined in the casting For eachbolster 26 and 2'! there is provided a yoke 32 havin arcuate guidesurfaces cooperating with the guide surfaces 28 and 29 of the bolsters.The yokes 32 are also provided with a groove 33 for receiving a clamp 34having a tongue fitting the groove 33, and with the The clamps 34 havetapped holes for receiving screws 35 extending through the holes 30 inthe bolsters. The sides of the yokes 32 opposite the grooves 33 are alsoprovided with grooves 36 for receiving pins 31 carried by the bolsters.

The pins 3! and the clamps 34 maintain the cooperating arcuate guidesurfaces of the yokes and bolsters in engagement and permit angularadjustment of the yokes with respect to the bolsters. When the yokes areadjusted to the desired positions with respect to the bolsters, they areclamped in place by tightening the screws 35. The adjustments of theyokes 32 are angular adjustments about the axes of the roller axles.

The lower ends of the yokes 32 are bifurcated andlongitudinally carryshafts 39. The shafts 39 between the bifurcations carry axle housings4i] which in turn carry roller axles 4|. The axle housings 40 and hencethe axles M are pivotally mounted on the shafts 39.-

The under side of each yoke 32 is provided with a downwardly extendingpin 43 and the upper side of each axlehousing is provided with anupwardly extending pin M. These pins 23 and 44 are offset with respectto each other, as indicated in Fig. 4, and are providedwith grooves forreceiving springs 45 and is carried by pads Q1: and formed on theaxle-housings All. The springs 45 and 46, in engaging the pins 43 and44, resilientl maintain the axle housings ll! vertical with respect tothe frame H and prevent wobbling thereof when the skate is raised fromthe skating surface. The springs permit the frame I I to be freelytiltedlaterally from the vertical position against the action of the springs,as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 3.

When the frame II is laterally tilted and the shafts 39 are horizontal,no angular displacement is given to the axle housings 5B and the axles4|. If, however, the shafts 39 are positioned out of the horizontal, asis illustrated in Fig. l, lateral tilting of the frame ll causes anangular displacement of the axle housings so and hence the axles 4|.This angular displacement of the axle housings 60 provides for turningmovement of the roller skate. The amount of angular positioning of theshafts 39 determines the amount of angular displacement of the axlehousings 59 upon a predetermined amount of lateral tilting of the frameI! and hence determines the turning radius of the roller skate. Byadjustably positioning the yokes 32 angularly with respect to thebolsters and 2?, the angular positions of the shafts 39 about the axesof the axles 4! may be adjusted and hence the turning radius of theroller skate may be adjusted.

Suitable indications may be provided on the bolsters and yokes forindicating the angular positions of the yokes with respect to thebolsters whereby adjustment of the turning radius of the roller skatemay be readily determined.

In this Way, the roller skate may be adjusted to correspond to thedesire of th skater and to adapt the roller skate to different skatingstyles.

Also, in this way, the roller skate may be adjusted for speed skatingwhere the turning radius would be relatively large or for figure skatingwhere the turning radius would be relatively small.

The axles 4| rotatably carry hubs 56 by means of ball bearings 5| and52. Each hub is provided with a flange 53 and an annular groove 55adjacent the flange. Diametrically opposed slots 55 are provided in theflange 53 and enter into the annular groove 54. A pair of semi-circularrings 56 are located in the annular groove 56 and have projections 51extending through the slots 55 in the flange 53. Springs 58 urge thesemi-circular rings outwardly but the rings may be compressed the huband, in so doing, the semi-circular rings 56 are forced inwardly againstthe action of the springs 58. When the tire abuts the flange 53, thesprings 58 snap the semi-circular rings outwardly so that they engage inthe groove to of the tire. Thus the tire is securely mounted on the hub.In order to remove the tire, the projections 51 are pushed inwardly tocollapse the springs 58 whereby the semi-circular rings are movedinwardly to permit removal of the tire. As will be noted, the tire isprovided with a pair of grooves 60 so that the tire may be reverselymounted on the hub. By reversing the tire from time to time, the wear ofthe tire ma b maintained substantially uniform.

In this way, an improved assembly for a roller skate is provided whereina demountable tire may be readily secured to or detached from the hub.This permits ready changing of the tires to adapt the roller skate forvarious styles of skating and it also permits reversing of the tires topermit for even wear.

While for purposes of illustration, one form of th1s mvention has beendisclosed, other for thereof will become apparent to those skilled inthe art upon reference to this disclosure, and, therefore, thisinvention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims andprior art.

We claim:

1. A roller skate comprising a frame, front and rear shafts carriedlongitudinally by the frame, an axle provided with rollers carriedlaterally by each shaft to be angularly displaced upon lateral tiltingof the frame, and means for adjustably angularly positioning the shaftsabout the axes of the axles without displacing the axles with respect tothe frame to predetermine the angular displacement of the axles forpredetermined lateral tilting of the frame.

2. A roller skate comprising a frame, front and rear shafts carriedlongitudinally by the frame, an axle provided with rollers carriedlaterally by each shaft to be angularly displaced upon lateral tiltingof the frame, means for adjustably angularly positioning the shaftsabout the axes of the axles without displacing the axles with respect tothe frame to predetermine the angular displacement of the axles forpredetermined lateral tilting of the frame, and spring means forresiliently preventing wobbling of the axles about the shafts.

3. A roller skate comprising a frame having front and rear bolsters, ayoke adapted to be carried by each bolster, a shaft carriedlongitudinally of the frame by each yoke, an axle housing carried byeach shaft, an axle carried laterally by each axle housing, said axlesbeing angularly displaced upon lateral tilting of the frame, and anadjustable connection between each yoke and bolster for angularlypositioning the shafts about the axes of the axles to predetermine theangular displacement of the axles for predetermined lateral tilting ofthe frame.

4. A roller skate comprising a frame having front and rear bolsters, ayoke adapted to be carried by each bolster, a shaft carriedlongitudinally of the frame by each yoke, an axle housing carried byeach shaft, an axle carried laterally by each axle housing, a pair ofrollers carried by each axle, said axles being angularly displaced uponlateral tilting of the frame, an adjustable connection between each yokeand bolster for angularly positioning the shafts about the axes of theaxles to predetermine the angular displacement of the axles forpredetermined lateral tilting of the frame, and spring means between theyokes and axle housings for resiliently preventing wobbling of the axlehousings.

5. A roller skate comprising a frame, front and rear bolsters on theframe and each provided with an arcuate guide, a yoke for each bolsterprovided with corresponding arcuate guides, means for clamping the yokesto the bolsters with the arcuate guides in engagement, a shaft carriedlongitudinally of the frame by each yoke, an axle housing carried byeach shaft, an axle carried laterally by each housing at the axes of thearcuate guides, a pair of rollers carried by each axle, said axles beingangularly displaced upon lateral tilting of the frame, and the clampingmeans for the yokes and bolsters providing for angular positioning ofthe shafts about the axes of the axles to predetermine the angulardisplacement of the axles for predetermined lateral tilting of theframe.

6. A roller skate comprising a frame, front and rear bolsters on theframe and each provided with an arcuate guide, a yoke for eachbolsterprovided with corresponding arcuate guides, means for clamping the yokesto the bolsters with the arcuate guides in engagement, a shaft carriedlongitudinally of the frame by each yoke, an axle housing carried byeach shaft, an axle carried laterally by each housing at the axes of thearcuate guides, a pair of rollers carried by each axle, said axles beingangularly displaced upon lateral tilting of the frame, the clampingmeans for the yokes and bolsters providing for angular positioning ofthe shafts about the axes of the axles to predetermine the angulardisplacement of the axles for predetermined lateral tilting of theframe, and spring means between the yokes and axle housings forresiliently preventing wobbling of the axle housings.

CHARLES S. COQKE.

LYLE Z. BARNARD.

, 6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 4,292 Plimpton Mar. 7, 18711,543,070 Ertl June 23, 1925 1,566,609 Larsen Dec. 22, 1925 1,603,529Faust Oct. 19, 1926 1,795,821 Baldwin Mar. 10, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 87,612 France Oct. 29, 1869

